Tag: Christian

After sharing 7 Christian Radio Shows You’d Absolutely Love last month, our attention was drawn to a number of Christian programmes on the airwaves in Accra and we took some time to listen to them and we’ve come up with this compilation:

Altar of Worship with Naadu Ollennu on Radio XYZ 93.1FM

Sometimes when the weather is very warm on weekdays, what you crave for is not the usual talk shows on politics or sports, but, some soothing gospel tunes and that is exactly what Naadu Oleenu provides for listeners from 1-3pm on Radio XYZ 93.1FM. Her selection of music is quite impeccable and her voice tone, very soothing for the afternoon. During the show, she poses questions to her listeners and reads out the responses in such a conversational tone you may feel she’s actually speaking with you. Before the show ends, she reads out a quote which is designed to uplift anyone listening to programme.

WARNING: Make sure you tune off just in time when she is signing off, especially, if you are not a fan of loud dancehall or rap tunes. The transition from Altar of Worship to the next programme is so abrupt that immediately there is a switch, the drivetime host starts dropping some loud, ‘hard’ tunes or rap, depending on his selection of the day. What we would suggest is a gradual take-over, maybe, an advert or two would not be bad for fans of not-so-loud music to gently tune off.

Drive Melodies with Kwaku Sampson on Sweet Melodies 94.3 FM

From 5-8PM on weekdays, except on Wednesdays, Kwaku Sampson hosts Drive Melodies on Sweet Melodies 94.3 FM. This is a mix-bag or a combination of several segments interspersed with good gospel tunes. Sometimes he holds discussions with a co-host or guests. The recent one had a singing competition where callers sang and winners selected at the end of the show. The constants on the show are the good tunes which will keep you grooving while you drive home and the testimony segment where a tape is played with someone sharing an inspiring story. This is definitely an option for listeners who may not be interested in long and dragging news discussions on the other stations. You’ll get updates on what is happening around the world in their news at 6pm and afterwards, it’s inspiration throughout.

Photo Source: Sweet Melodies’ Facebook Page

Keys and Strings with Danny Attah on Sweet Melodies 94.3 FM

This is a ‘free’ on-air seminar for chorister and musicians in the church which is aired on Saturdays, from 9am -10am. The show seems quite popular assessing from the calls and text messages they receive from the listeners. The panel, led by Danny Attah, take a topic each week relating to choir management, come up with ideas around it and discuss. The panelists mostly comprise of music directors and musicians in the church. On some Saturdays, the show is dedicated to answering questions and addressing the concerns of the listeners. Managing a choir, from what we’ve come to understand, is one of the most daunting tasks for anyone who is ill-equipped. This talk show takes listeners through what could be done to make this task less challenging. Even if you do not belong to the choir, listening to this show opens you up to what choristers go through to sing those beautiful melodies in church meetings. Musicians in the church need to be appreciated, deserve our prayers and they must make it a point to listen to this show as well.

Helpers of Our Joy on Sweet Melodies 94.3FM

This is a relationship and counselling programme aired on weekdays from 9 – 10pm. It was formerly hosted by Rev. Eddy Fabin but currently by, Rev. Alex Otoo Ankamah. During the one-hour show, a particular topic on relationships and marriage is selected and discussed by the host and his guest(s). Listeners are asked to send their questions and contributions and later, the phone lines are opened for the counsellors to help address issues live in the studio. Responses given to questions by the counsellors are biblical, sound and straight to the point with no mincing of words. If your issue seems too complicated, you are asked to call a number for further discussion. When the habit of listening to this show is cultivated, there is no way you can go wrong in your relationship or marriage.

Photo Source: Sweet Melodies’ Facebook Page

Fam-Life on Citi 97.3 FM

Speaking of relationship and counselling shows, Fam-life on Citi 97.3 FM is another showed with that concept which is aired on Saturdays from 7am – 9am. Leticia Effah hosts the show with other renowned marriage counsellors like Amos Kevin Annan. The topics which are treated on the show are more inclined towards improving marriages but that does not stop the unmarried from listening to it. It’s always good to be prepared for what lies ahead or what do you think?

Has your favourite show been mentioned yet? If it hasn’t let us know and we’ll do the listening with you. 😊

John Boakye’s Your Guide to Marriage is an encyclopedia for anyone desiring to be in a relationship that will ultimately lead to marriage and for married couples desiring to have a better relationship also, this is the reference book you need to have in your library.

The 329-page book covers the whole concept of marriage in the biblical context, how to prepare for it, the different roles of the husband and wife, communication and conflict management in marriage, dealing with in-laws, friends and work in marriage, money and sex matters, family planning, parenting, self-care, spirituality and legal matters.

The author does not mince words in spelling out what the Bible says about marriage and how to have a good one. This is probably the book we need in this era where statistics indicate that over 50 percent of Christian marriages end in divorce.

Several factors account for the high rate of divorce in Christian marriages and one of them is the question of who plays what role in the marriage institution. In John Boakye’s book, he clearly states the role of the man and the woman in marriage with the bible being his reference point. He reiterates the important point of making God and the Bible your focal point in marriage since He (God) is the author/initiator of it. The reader can thus, allude that marriage without the God-factor will definitely lead to confusion and subsequently to a divorce.

Marriage is a divine institution. It is of God and by God. He does not hand it over to you to do what pleases you with it, but He merely calls you into it to serve Him – John Boakye

While the man is the head who oversees all matters in the home, irrespective of his talent, age, wealth or education, the woman, on the hand, has the role of accepting the leadership of her husband and submitting to him as a believer of Christ. This should, however, inform the woman of who she chooses as her head.

The issue of submitting to the man in marriage is one which has raised concerns in some feminists circles in recent times. They see the concept of submission by the woman in the marriage as ‘prescriptive’ and making the woman subservient to the man. This has led to these feminist rejecting the submission concept outright but Reverend Andy Yawson in one of his sermons had this piece of advice for people, who in the name of empowerment, are not willing to adapt:

The book provides all the answers for individuals who did not go through the regular pre-marital counselling organised by the church or those who did not take it as seriously as they should have or those who simply want to refresh the memory on what they already know.

Your Guide to Marriage is written in simple language and in instances where the author needs to go technical, he does that and sometimes provides illustrations which help the reader understand the topic better. The examples provided are relatable and to the Ghanaian context.

John Boakye’s Catholic background reflects heavily on his references but that notwithstanding, Your Guide to Marriage is a must-read for any individual who desires to have a good marriage.

‘God loves you’ is probably one of the most common phrases used by Christians. It is used during church services, when winning souls, to console people in difficult situations, when things are going well and in our daily conversations. These words have become so common that they are gradually becoming a cliché. Have we actually sat down to meditate on the meaning of this simple words? A God, who is unseen, loves me (insert your name)? Is that possible? How does this love manifest?

One of the most common ways of defining the love of God is through the biblical salvation story of Him giving His only Son to come and die on the cross for our sins (John 3:16). There are other scriptures that describe this love that God has for us including:

God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8

Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever (Psalm 136:26 )

Apart from what we know from the Bible, the love of this ‘invisible’ God is so ubiquitous. It is expressed in the most simple forms that we are beginning to take them for granted. It is now a normal phenomenon to wake up from bed feeling very healthy and forgetting to say ‘thank you’ to the giver of life. Through our own efforts, we go through days, months and even years of not hearing any bad news. We have worked so hard in school and are gainfully employed, therefore, we are not able to decipher the meaning of God’s love. Everything has become so normal that every gift from God is being seen as results of our hard work.

Before you categorise all of God’s gifts as ‘normal’ things, remember there are people who choked on their food. Some people board buses and are not able to reach their destinations. There are 28-year-olds who are dying of heart attacks but you wake up each morning and are able to go through the day so effortlessly.

You remember the day that guy proposed to you or when the lady accepted your love proposal? The way you heart flipped when you vowed to spend your lives together. You ensured your life and day revolved around each other. It is time to transfer this same measure of love or even more to God, the giver of life and the provider of every gift.

As for the love of this ‘invisible’ God, it is indescribable but it can be seen in the most minute forms. If you haven’t spent some time today to say ‘thank you to God,’ this is your chance to do so.

Development experts spend quite a substantial amount of their resources on monitoring and evaluation when executing a project. In fact, they hire officers in charge of this unique area even before the project starts. Why not at the end? This is because they do not underestimate the role of monitoring and evaluation. Measuring their successes and failures as they go through a project ensures they are charting the right course and perhaps, saves them more resources. If we determined to make good use of this new year, we can as well take a cue from the development experts – monitor and evaluate our progress with our various goals monthly.

Pause. Let’s go back to January 1. It’s been 30 amazing days already. How have you fared? Have you started working on your resolutions yet? Are you spending more time in prayer and reading the word? Are you working on acquiring that new skill, reading those books already or building yourself up in a specific capacity? Are you practicing that good saving habit? How about that new business? Have you started working on the proposal? If you haven’t started, it’s not too late to put down some goals, of course, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Don’t allow the year to pass by without you placing some demand on God, the Father.

One practice the Bible encourages is the writing down of our visions as stated in Habakkuk 2:2,

Then the LORD replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets …

There are certain ideas and dreams that God has laid in our hearts. You may choose to call them resolutions, goals, dreams, ambitions or aspirations, but, take a paper or your phone, state them and include how the Holy Spirit has directed you to work towards them. You can only know the mind of the spirit when you spend time praying quality prayers.

This month, we learnt that the Holy Spirit makes everything possible for believers, hence, it is important to involve God in our plans. We also learned that whatever you ingest is what we bring out as Christians, therefore, we should be wary of what we allow into our senses. Let’s learn to build ourselves up by taking in the right stuff – which will help us achieve our bigger goals. It could be reading more books or watching videos that can build our intellect.

Take some time and cast your mind back to the beginning of the year and take an assessment. Do you like how you’ve spent the month? If you do, keep it up! If not, let’s involve God and work towards the various ministries that God has before us.

It’s been a great start but we trust that God has more in store for us. Let’s hold Him by His word!

For the Christian going through challenging times and looking for testimonies to rekindle their faith or that person who keeps wondering if God is still performing miracles as He did in the Biblical era then the Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul, compiled by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, is the book you need to read. I chose this book purposely to improve upon my Christian storytelling ability but as I went through the pages, I realised that the Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul was not just a book, but an epistle to the modern Christian which leaves an indelible mark on the heart.

The 378-page book is filled with 101 short motivational stories under the headings of ‘giving,’ ‘love,’ ‘facing obstacles,’ ‘parent and parenting,’ ‘dealing with death,’ etc. The stories are written so clearly that it is almost impossible to decipher who the target readers are. This probably indicates that the book can be read and assimilated by anybody in any age group.

When going through the book, you can almost feel your soul moving along with the different characters and some of the stories are filled with so many emotions that if you are the type who is easily moved to tears, you need to psyche yourself up for that.

It is quite challenging to select the most inspiring story from the book but being a new parent myself, stories under the ‘parent and parenting’ and ‘facing obstacles’ categories blessed me tremendously. One of the most touching stories titled ‘Medicine’ almost moves the reader to tears. The story is narrated by a single mother whose child had developed an ear infection. She had no money and because she lived on the outskirts of town and it had snowed heavily, it was almost impossible to take the child to the hospital. She made an urgent call to a doctor who prescribed a drug and listed places where she could get it from. She made frantic phone calls to all of these places but they all asked for money. After several attempts which failed, the mother decided to break into one of the pharmacies and steal the drug since perhaps, that could save her child. When the option of stealing occurred to her, another voice immediately directed her to make one last call to a pharmacy which she obliged. She made the call and this time, the pharmacy decided to give the drug to her on credit. Not only that, one of the workers drove through the snow, to her location to deliver the said medicine. If this is not the work of God, then tell me who else can cause such a turn-around in someone’s life.

There are several stories in that book and it is not far-fetched to say the reader can see him/herself in at least two or more of them. As Christians, the Bible even admonishes us to encourage each other and build each other up (1 Thessalonian 5:11) and Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul did exactly that to me and I highly recommend it.

NB: I would like to see the African or probably the Ghanaian version of this book so that we can relate properly to the characters and the environment better (maybe I will do that collection).

When the clock strikes midnight on the 1st of January, there seems to be some glimmer of hope that the New Year will automatically be better than the previous one. It is not bad but to have a successful year requires deliberate steps and like a soldier preparing for war, it is important to have a plan and strategy.

People start the year with different ambitions and resolutions but half-way, they lose hope even though they believe the will of God for them is to have an amazing and successful year.

To ensure 2018 becomes one of the best years yet, believers are required to follow these principles as listed by Dr. Emmanauel Sogah:

Abide in the Word

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you – John 15:7

To have a great year, you need to be a person of the word. It is in the word that you’ll find strategies and ideas to accomplish whichever goal you list. When there is a union between the Christian and the word of God, whatsoever you ask will be granted.

In God’s mind, there is no prayer of a Christian that should be rejected. Jesus in his earth walk demonstrated that when he, for example, spoke words to the fig tree and it was done (Mark 11:12-25). As a Christian, this should be our everyday experience – when we speak we ought to receive answers and that can only be done when there is a perfect union between the Christian and the word of God.

Allow the Holy Spirit to Influence you

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. – Luke 1:35

After setting our goals for the year, we wonder how we are going to achieve them. Just as Mary conceived her baby after she was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, so shall we achieve our goals this year by the influence of the Holy Spirit. This point is also emphasised in Zechariah 4:6

So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.

If you are going to achieve anything, then it is going to be by the Holy Spirit. It is also important to fellowship with the Holy Spirit by praying with other tongues. He (the Holy Spirit) will help you as emphasised in Romans 8:26.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

The Spirit gives us insight into the future for us to understand the details of projects we wish to undertake. The Holy Spirit also helps us in our shortcomings when it comes to goals we have set for the year. Joshua received unorthodox directions from God to march around the walls of Jericho, seven times (Joshua 6) in order to bring the walls down. If we are going to succeed this year, we’ll need to go by the strategies of the Holy Spirit which is sometimes uncommon and not according to the systems of the world.

Pursue Excellence

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge…. – 2 Peter 1:5-8

Ensure excellence is seen whatever you do as a Christian this year. Be steadfast and immovable in the decisions you take. Pay attention to expressing your inward virtues.

If these things (aforementioned) are in you in an increasing measure, fruitfulness will be inevitable.